Home Base

Home Base works in cooperation with family, school, and community to provide high-quality childcare through enriching activities for all elementary children in the Wayzata Public Schools community.

Home Base:

Is a fee-based program which provides before- and after-school childcare for children kindergarten to grade five.

Is located at each of the seven Wayzata elementary schools and the Wayzata Early Learning School.

Provides a choice-based environment where children can grow, build friendships, and develop their social skills under the supervision of nurturing caregivers.

Is led by experienced professionals in school-age care at each site.

Follows school-age care guidelines.

Provides full-day programs when school is not in session, such as conference days and school breaks.

Bright Start:

Provides full-day care for children the year before kindergarten.

Is a high-quality pre-kindergarten program.

Utilizes a research-based curriculum.

Is led by experienced, well-trained staff.

Is designed to meet the social and educational need of four- and five-year-old children in the year before kindergarten.

Home Base Program Philosophy

Home Base is a quality, extended-day childcare program located at all seven elementary schools in the Wayzata Public Schools and at the Wayzata Early Learning School. The program provides enrichment opportunities for elementary-age children before and after school hours, as well as on release days and during the summer.

Home Base is a warm and caring place where staff has the highest regard for children and believes all children deserve their best efforts. Home Base provides a safe, enriching, recreational program conducive to social interaction and learning with minimal formal structure. Through all our activities and interactions we are striving to show children how to feel good about themselves, make choices, resolve differences and contribute in healthy ways to their community.

Home Base's location in the schools offers parents an added measure of safety and convenience. It gives staff the support and resources of teachers, principals, social workers, nurses, and special needs experts and support staff. We hope it sends a message to families that Wayzata Public Schools supports them in their task of raising healthy, happy, responsible, and capable children. Home Base supports families by including them in their child's day, befriending them, and offering them expertise in the care and nurturing of their children.

The History of Home Base

In 1980, a group of parents in the Greenwood Elementary attendance area began talking about the need for school-age child care in Wayzata Public Schools. As they became more organized they brought their concerns to the principal who forwarded them to the newly formed Community Education office. Community Education Services sent a needs assessment survey to all elementary parents. The survey showed both need and interest in the program. A task force under the Community Education Services Advisory Council then collected data and went before the school board with a tentative school-age childcare proposal. The board agreed to a one-year pilot program.

The first Home Base program began in the fall of 1981 with thirty-five children and three staff members in room 23 at Oakwood Elementary School. After a successful first year, the program grew. By the fall of 1986, there was a Home Base program in every elementary school in the district. In the fall of 1989, an additional site was added at the new Plymouth Creek Elementary School and the Widsten site was moved to the new Gleason Lake Elementary School. In the fall of 1991, Kimberly Lane opened.

The Home Base staff has grown from three members to over 100. We offer full-year childcare programming with over 1,800 children representing 1,600 families utilizing Home Base during the school year and a full-day summer program, which serves 800 children. Home Base is supported solely by parent fees and falls under Wayzata Public School's Community Education Department. Our program has a strong base of parent support as well as school board approval and is growing and evolving into the best program it can be.